Tsewang Norbu

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Tsewang Norbu (9 October 1996 – 25 February 2022) was a Tibetan singer who performed in Tibetan, Mandarin Chinese, and English. He became well known in China after appearing on several TV talent shows.

Born in Nagqu in the Tibetan region of China, Norbu grew up with musician parents and developed a love for music. He studied at Tibet University.

Career highlights:
- 2014: Road to Star (Guangdong Satellite TV) — played piano and sang Tibetan songs, reaching the top twelve in the Western division and top forty-eight nationwide. He later left the show and declined an invitation to The Voice of China.
- 2017: The Coming One (Tencent Video) — joined Li Ronghao’s team and finished ninth in the national finals.
- 2019: Let’s Band Together (Youku) — eliminated halfway.
- 2021: Appeared on several shows, including the CCTV-3 Spring Festival Gala performing “Under the Cloud” with Mimi Lee; attended the 24th Shanghai International Film Festival awards as an honored guest; appeared on Handsome Tibetan Youth and Sing! China; joined Na Ying’s team on The Voice of China but was eliminated among the top 22.

Death and aftermath:
Norbu died by self-immolation outside the Potala Palace in Lhasa on 25 February 2022, at age 25. He was the 158th Tibetan to die in this manner since 2009. Initial reports described a man shouting slogans and trying to set himself on fire; police intervened and he was taken away. Roads around the palace were later blocked and security increased.

Condolences poured in on his social media accounts, leading to disabled comments. His songs were removed from mainland Chinese music platforms. Some exile reports questioned the circumstances and urged international attention. In May 2022, VOA reported a claim that Norbu’s father may have killed himself after police harassment. Norbu was married and had a daughter.